Hunt
by Liris
Summary: There's a trigger-happy sniper out there, with Artemis in his crosshairs. Holly gets involved, and gets a lot more than she bargained for. Currently H/T. Not connected to any of my other stories, and I own none of the characters. Rated for violence.
1. Preface

This is random, I know, but the idea came to me and I couldn't resist. This is just the preface, and I will write the rest - if I get, oh, shall we say five reviews? Ha ha ha - I love being evil. And the reviews should preferably be off different people. I do have a plot, but no one else gets to see it unless you tell me you want to. Love you all - Liris

* * *

Holly Short sucked in a sharp breath, but gave no other sign that she was in pain. The sprite wielding the knife grinned at her maniacally, and pulled it out of her shoulder. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, grateful that she'd recently completed the Ritual. Blue sparks swarmed her shoulder, repairing it in seconds. The sprite waved the bloody blade in front of her face, spittle flying from between his teeth as he hissed at her.

"Tell me, elf. Where is he?"

Holly bared her teeth at him, but didn't answer. He wouldn't break her. She wouldn't give in. The sprite gave her a few seconds to talk, then huffed when he realised she wasn't going to.

"You're only causing yourself more pain, you know. Is he really worth that? Is he worth being mutilated for? Worth dying for?"

Holly turned her head away from his foul breath, attempting to work out where she was. She'd been on a mission for Section Eight, tracking a runaway demon, when someone had shot her with a dart. She'd come to in this room, hands tied together and suspended from a hook in the ceiling. She didn't know how long she'd been there – a couple of hours? It couldn't be too long, as her magic was still fairly strong. It only _felt _like two years because she'd spent the time having a dagger plunged into her shoulder and thigh, and some insane sprite yelling at her to talk.

She gritted her teeth, suppressing a scream as he stabbed her again, this time going in between the ribs. The blade nicked a lung, and she was instantly writhing in pain, whilst the sprite yelled at her to _tell him the location_!

He pulled the knife out with a wet slurping sound, and she whimpered. She would have screamed, but she didn't have enough air. The blue sparks whirled around her torso, and the pain dissipated, leaving her slack in the bonds, breathing heavily and trying not to pass out. The sprite leaned into her, anger turning his voice sibilant. He had a goblin ancestor somewhere in his family tree.

"Tell me where I can find Artemis Fowl!"


	2. Chapter 1

Ok, first official chapter up! I know I said 5 reviews, but I quite like this story, and I figure 4 is close enough. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

The bits in italics are thoughts, just so you know.

And, in case anyone was wondering, no, I do not like fireworks.

**26 hours earlier**

Holly swooped low to the sea, calling the dolphins up to the surface. They rose, and raced her all the way to Irish coastline. She beat them, but barely. She smiled as they chattered and sank back below the waves. The pollution in their skin was still there, but it was a little better than the last time she'd seen it. Maybe the humans were actually taking care of their environment. Or maybe these were different dolphins.

She turned and flew towards Tara. She'd have preferred somewhere – anywhere – else, but Trouble was breathing down her neck about a deadline as it was, and she didn't have time for a detour. She cut the power to her wings, glided to the base of the oak and plucked an acorn from the leaf litter, ignoring the stares of the revellers, and one or two calls to join in. She leaped from the ground, initiating her wings in mid-air, and was out of cat-calling distance in seconds. She'd barely had her feet on the earth for ten seconds. _Quick enough for you, Trouble_?

She cut across a small town, avoiding a firework by inches, and landed in a deserted field. She pulled a face as she removed her helmet. Bonfire night, fine, but where in that description were there fireworks? And why celebrate in Ireland anyway – wasn't it an English tradition? She shook her head as another rocket exploded above her. They were all noise and no colour. If they were pretty, then maybe she could see the allure, but they weren't. They were noisy, polluting and distracting. She winced as another explosion assaulted her ears. Talking of distractions…

She knelt down, pulled the acorn from her breast pocket and pushed it into the soil.

"I return you to the earth, and claim the gift that is my right." She whispered. The blue glow engulfed her, and she grinned. Nothing beat the feeling of running hot.

Suddenly, it all went quiet. Maybe they'd run out of fireworks? Nah. That was too much to hope for. They were probably renewing their stores. Either way, she was taking no chances. She jammed her helmet back on, ran a few steps, then took off into the night sky, steering well clear of any towns on her way back to the fort. The last thing she needed was to be impaled by a stray rocket. She shook her head again and reset the filters on her helmet. The smoke was leaking in. She sighed. Gods, she hated fireworks.

* * *

Artemis was sitting in his study, trying to ignore the loud bangs coming from outside. His family didn't normally celebrate bonfire night, but the twins had been in England the previous year, seen the fireworks, and insisted on having them this year at the manor. Artemis sighed and turned up the music on his computer. Did nobody but him do any work around here?

Butler stuck his head around the door.

"Artemis? You alright?"

"I'm fine, Butler. No change in the five minutes since you last asked" the boy snapped back. Butler withdrew. When Master Artemis looked at you like that, he was best left alone.

The fireworks were spooking Butler too. In these environments, it was all too easy for a sniper to get a shot off with no-one noticing. The sound would be covered by the bangs, as would the muzzle flash. It was a security nightmare.

Butler stopped, trying to calm down. He hadn't used to be this paranoid. It was only since Artemis had vanished for three years that he worried this much. It wasn't like anyone was trying to kill him right now…

Butler recalled the Arctic incident, and the time he'd rescued the boy from a lot of hungry trolls in the replica Temple of Artemis. Opal had done that, and now she was loose again. Maybe Artemis did have someone trying to kill him after all. Butler turned and made his way back to the study. What was the saying? You're not paranoid if someone really is after you.

* * *

"Do you know what to do?" the voice asked. It came through the speaker metallic, so it sounded like a robot was talking to him. He didn't care particularly who it was, so long as the cash arrived. And it had, all thirty thousand US dollars was now sitting in a suitcase by his feet. He nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Hit him in the shoulder; make it look like someone's trying to kill him."

"I want the appearance only. If you actually kill him I'll…"

"Alright, alright. I know what I'm doing." He cut the speaker off, snapping the phone shut. He knew how to do his job. He pulled the rifle from its case and pulled it in tight to his shoulder. He squinted through the scope, smirking as he caught sight of the target in the crosshairs.

"Got you."

He squeezed the trigger once, and the figure fell from the chair, blood blossoming across one arm. Perfect. Bloody, painful, but not fatal. He packed the gun away and made his way to his car. He was gone before anyone raised the alarm.

* * *

By the way, I don't actually know if they celebrate bonfire night in Ireland or not. And Holly is not flying over Fowl Manor. I was rereading, and realised that that's what it sounded like. But she's not, anyway. And this is set after TTP. Anything else I've forgotten? Let me know in a review (hint hint!)

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	3. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far. Special thanks to ht4eva, who has given this story more direction (btw, I like milk chocolate). I've had three reviews asking for H/T, so that's what you're getting. The only other thing I could do would be a sort of love triangle, which I suppose could work... ideas, people!

* * *

Butler half-ran to the study, coming panting to a halt outside. Master Artemis wouldn't thank him for bursting in. He opened the door as slowly as the feeling of dread in his chest would allow him.

"Artemis?"

No answer. Butler gave up on delicacy and pushed the door open. It bounced back off the wall with force and rammed into his arm. He didn't notice. Artemis was on the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood. He had a bullet wound to the shoulder, Butler noticed automatically. He dropped to his knees at the boy's side, using one massive hand to staunch the flow of blood. His other hand scrabbled at Artemis's collar, checking for a pulse. It was there, weak but steady. Artemis groaned, and his eyes moved behind closed lids.

"Holly" he breathed. Butler's eyes widened. _Of_ _course_! He grabbed the fairy communicator disguised as a ring on Artemis's hand, and pressed the only button he could see. With any luck, Artemis had Holly on speed dial.

Holly was about two miles west of Fowl Manor when she got the phone call. Artemis. She thought about it for a second, and then decided to take the call. Trouble wouldn't like it, but she could fly and talk at the same time.

"Hey, Arty."

"Holly."

Holly frowned. Either Artemis had a sore throat or she was talking to…

"Butler?"

"Yes. Artemis has been shot."

Holly froze in midair.

"Where are you?"

"In the study. Holly, hurry."

Holly hung up and changed course. Trouble would kill her when she got back to Police Plaza, but right then that didn't matter. Nothing mattered, other than her getting to Artemis.

Butler had barely hung up when there was an urgent tapping at the window. He opened it, avoiding the broken glass from the one smashed pane, and Holly materialised on her knees next to Artemis. She checked for the bullet, trying to ignore the fact that her heart was pounding. It had gone straight through. That was good; she didn't want to heal him with the bullet still lodged inside, but neither did she want to stick her fingers into the hole and fish around for it. She covered the wound with her hand and allowed the magic to flow.

"Heal" she whispered, praying silently. Artemis's shoulder was bathed in a blue light, and his breath caught as the hole closed. The magic faded, and Holly sank back on her heels, watching his face carefully. For several seconds he didn't move, then he coughed and his eyes opened groggily. He focussed, and smiled at the elf leaning over him.

"You saved me again."

"It's getting a bit repetitive" she replied, attempting to keep the worry and anger out of her tone. Someone had shot at him! She noticed that her hands were shaking and stood, crossing her arms and walking to the window. She utilised her helmet filters to scan the surroundings, trying to see where the shooter could have been hidden.

"Captain Short!" roared a voice in her ear. She jumped, causing Butler to throw her an alarmed look.

"Commander Kelp" she replied, answering both her superior and Butler's unasked question. The manservant returned his attention to Artemis, who was sitting up and rubbing his shoulder.

"Why are you at Fowl Manor?" Trouble barked. Holly bristled.

"Artemis got shot. I was nearby, so I healed him." She replied curtly. If he was going to snap at her, then what kind of response did he expect? She heard him sigh at her tone, and then what she'd said caught up with him.

"Shot? Is he ok?"

She glanced over at the boy. Butler was helping him to his feet. Artemis swayed but stayed standing.

"He will be."

"Who shot him?"

"I don't know," she said, trying to keep her anger in check. "But they're not going to do it again. I want to move him to a safe house."

"Is it that serious?"

"Someone tried to _kill him_, Trouble!"

"Someone's always trying to kill me, Holly. I'm fine here." Artemis interceded. Holly ignored him.

"Alright then, if you think that's necessary. Get Fowl to safety, and then get your behind back below ground. I have no intention of cancelling my plans for a mud boy."

Holly grinned. She was glad he'd remembered their date. She was about to agree, when she heard a pinging noise in her earpiece. Trouble had mail. He opened it, then groaned.

"The council, on the other hand…" He sighed. "Vinyaya wants to talk to you. Sorry, Holly."

He meant Section Eight had a mission for her. She sighed. Talk about bad timing.

"Never mind, Trouble. We can always reschedule."

"Good." She could hear the grin in his voice. He coughed and continued in a more formal tone.

"I'll turn off all locators this end, in case anyone tried to trace him through you. Report in when you get back below ground."

"Sir."

Holly terminated the contact and removed her helmet.

"Get some clothes together, and tell your parents that you're going away for a couple of days. I'm taking you to a safe house."

Artemis frowned.

"Holly…"

"Don't argue with me, mud boy. Do it."

Artemis knew that tone. It meant 'do as I say or I'll punch you'. He winced internally. He'd had that experience several times before. A determined Fowl may usually get their way, but an angry Holly _always_ got hers. He dropped the argument and pulled a suitcase from under the desk.

"Done."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"I occasionally have to go on spontaneous business meetings. I always keep a case packed."

She nodded, muttered something Artemis didn't quite catch under her breath, and turned to Butler.

"Did you see the shooter?"

"No. By the time I got in here, Artemis was already unconscious."

She cast another look at the shattered window, and scowled at the night in general.

"I don't have time to do a search now. I've got to get back underground."

"Where is this safe house?" Artemis asked. Holly shook her head.

"The less Butler knows, the safer he'll be. I'll tell you when we're on the way. Now, go and tell your parents. The last thing we need is you reported missing."

Butler looked at Holly, alarmed.

"I'm not going?"

"The moonbelt can only do so much. Unless you want me to dart you…"

Butler sighed and pushed Artemis towards the elf.

"I'll tell Mr and Mrs Fowl. You two just go."

He squatted down to Holly's eye level.

"Thank you again, Holly. You saved him."

Holy rolled her eyes.

"It's becoming a habit. Don't worry, big guy, I'll take care of him."

"I know you will."

He hugged her, and she embraced him back. Artemis watched the interaction and suppressed a sigh.

"Captain?"

Holly disentangled herself and punched Butler's upper arm lightly.

"See you in a couple of days."

She handed Artemis a piton, which he wrapped around his torso and handed back. She clipped it back onto her moonbelt and started her wings.

Butler watched as they flew out of sight, a bad feeling growing in his chest. Artemis was safe, he was sure – well, ok, relatively certain – of that, but what kind of mess was Holly dragging herself into by getting involved in this? He shook his head and closed the window. He'd relied on his intuition too many times to start doubting it now, but there wasn't a lot he could do. Holly could take care of herself.

* * *

Btw, people, there's a poll on my profile about the best pairings in the world of AF. Vote, and I'll write a story about the winning one. One-shot, probably. Love you all, let me know how you think it's progressing. I love reading your reviews!


	4. Chapter 3

Ok folks, here it is. my third update this week! I love snow days. Btw, it's going to get back to very violent after this chapter, so you have been warned. And apologies if Minerva is ooc, I just really cannot stand her.

* * *

**2 hours later**

Holly got out of her pod at the Haven end of E1, and was immediately greeted by the commander. Trouble glanced around to make sure they were alone, then pulled her into a hug and kissed her. She twined her fingers into the lapels of his uniform and reciprocated, breaking away when the lack of air started to make her dizzy. She smiled at the grin on his face, then shrugged out of his embrace and made her report.

"Artemis is in a secure location. I'll go back up in a few hours and make sure he's alright."

He nodded, and gestured for her to walk with him. He ruined the semblance of formality slightly by holding her hand. He squeezed her fingers lightly.

"Vinyaya wants to talk to you. You're officially on loan to Section Eight for the next few hours."

"Do you know what the mission is?"

He shrugged, looking irritated.

"Something aboveground. That's all I know. Apparently, I don't have enough clearance to know the exact perimeters" he said sarcastically. He snorted, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. They'd reached Vinyaya's office.

"Be careful" he whispered, then let her go. He watched as she knocked and entered. He worried about her on these missions. They were assigned to Section Eight for a reason. Vinyaya liked to say that they were too delicate for the LEP, but in reality they were too dangerous. And that was saying something, given the fatality rate of the LEP was at its highest since the Bwa Kell revolution. He sighed and left for his own office. He knew she'd never turn the job down, no matter how dangerous it was. She lived for the adventure, and he could hardly moan at her, since he was exactly the same. He sighed. Sometimes, being the 'gung-ho' popular officer was just inconvenient. He never had the moral high ground.

* * *

Holly sat in the overstuffed chair opposite Vinyaya's desk. The older elf smiled at her.

"Captain Short. How are you?"

"Fine, thank you Commander. You?"

"Not too bad. I'm going to get straight to the point, Captain, we're in trouble. Section Eight has sent three officers topside in the last five days. None of them has returned, and none of them has reported in for over 48 hours. They were all sent up to trace a gang of goblins who were selling arms to surface fairies."

Holly gulped. Three officers, all lost?

"What do you want me to do, Commander? If those three couldn't do it..."

Vinyaya shook her head.

"We don't want you to track the gang, Captain; we can get others to do that. We want you to find the three MIA officers. If they are dead, then it will clear the way for Foaly to activate the self-destruct in the helmets."

"And if they're not dead?"

Vinyaya looked directly into Holly's eyes, and the young elf shivered. She wasn't going to like what she heard next.

"We cannot risk exposure to the humans, Captain. Get them back belowground if you can, but if it's not possible, then I expect you to whatever is necessary to protect our civilisation. You have our full backing."

Holly gaped. The Commander had just ordered her to kill her fellow officers. It was clear in her eyes how much she hated to give the order, but that didn't make it any better. Holly composed herself, swallowing her anger.

"I don't think I can do that, Commander."

Vinyaya nodded. She hadn't expected Holly to agree.

"Just help them if you can. If not, then save yourself. I don't like this any more than you do, Holly, but I cannot risk the exposure of our kind. You are not to risk yourself to save them, is that clear? I will not have the lives of any more officers on the line due to this case."

Holly nodded reluctantly. She may not like it, but she could see Vinyaya's point. The Commander sighed and handed Holly a surface visa.

"Suspend all non-essential flights and clear the passenger lounge. You're going to E1, Captain. Good luck."

* * *

Butler answered the telephone at the third ring.

"Fowl Manor."

"Butler? Is Artemis there?"

"He's currently unavailable. I can give him a message."

"It's Minerva. Tell him I called, oui?"

Butler agreed and put the phone down. In her chateaux in France, Minerva hung up gently, then threw the phone to the floor. It smashed, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too busy cursing in French. By the time her vocabulary ran dry (which took quite a while, as she used words even her father hadn't heard before), her entire family was gathered outside her door. Beau stared, wide-eyed, at his big sister. Their father shooed him away, threatening to cut off his pocket money if he ever heard him utter a single syllable of what Minerva had just said, then turned to face his daughter.

"Explain, Minerva. Now."

Over the last few years, he'd toughened up on his attitude to his daughter. The whole demon incident had pushed just enough buttons to make him take charge again, and now Minerva's activities were monitored. If her father detected even a hint of anything supernatural, her funding would be revoked so fast it'd give her whiplash. This new attitude extended to her language, it appeared.

"Nothing, papa."

"Nobody swears like that for 'nothing'. What happened?"

Minerva said nothing. Her father wasn't sure whether to be angry or comforting. He settled for a little of both.

"Whatever it is, Minnie, you can talk to me about it. However, if I ever hear you using language like that again, you will be grounded for a year!"

He spun on his heel and left. Minerva slammed the door after him.

"I was supposed to be the first person he talked to" she said through gritted teeth. "The first person to console him. Now, he's too preoccupied to talk to me?"

She knew he wasn't in the hospital from Butler's tone, but it also didn't make sense that he'd run, or go into hiding or whatever, without his bodyguard. Unless...

She repressed the urge to scream and instead kicked the remains of the destroyed phone. He'd gone somewhere with that fairy. Holly.

Minerva suddenly had a brainwave. If she could find out where he was, she could go and find him, weave a tale as harrowing as him, get his sympathy, his companionship. But how to find him? The whole idea of hiding was that no one knew where you were. Obviously, someone would have to know. Butler probably did, but there was precious little chance of her being able to pry the information from him. That left just one other person who would definitely know...

Minerva picked up the pieces of the phone, prised them back together, and made another call. The line crackled, but worked.

"Yes?" said the voice. Minerva remembered her voice scrambler just in time. It was a device she'd come up with. Basically, it took the speakers tones and changed the pitch and timbre completely. No detector in the world could match the voice now emanating through the phone with hers.

"I've got another job for you."

"I'm listening."

"This is more difficult. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Just give me what you've got" the voice said impatiently. Minerva sighed. Assassins were all so edgy.

"This one is a fairy. Holly Short."

The assassin was silent for a few seconds, then spoke in an eerily calm tone.

"I can't. Humans are one thing, but I won't go against the Book. I won't kill a fairy."

Minerva frowned. So, apparently, the Book didn't expressly forbid the slaying of humans. She'd have to look into that.

"I don't want you to kill her. Just extract some information."

There was another pause as the assassin considered.

"I want fifty thousand."

"Done" Minerva agreed. It was no trouble to siphon money out of her father's account without him noticing. And if he did, she'd blame one of the staff. They were all replaceable.

"Alright then" the voice said. "What do you want to know?"

* * *

So now you're all up to date. The assassin is the sprite from the prologue, just to clarify. My sister proofread this for me and didn't get it, but she was half asleep at the time. Reviews welcome, flames not. Love you all, and virtual chocolate to everyone who's stuck with this. You get cookies if you review too! (Not that I'm trying to bribe you or anything). More reviews = faster update. Deal?

Liris  
xxx


	5. Chapter 4

Hi, readers. I know I said there'd be torture and stuff this chapter, but I changed my mind. So, next chapter, okay? It won't be too graphic, don't worry. Nothing worse than in the prolouge. Well, not much worse anyway.  
There are two time jumps in this chapter, and I apologise for that, but it was either that or have two really short chapters. So, I went with this.  
Thanks for sticking with it, and enjoy!

* * *

**Five hours later**

Holly was tired. Firstly, she'd spent a good half hour convincing the staff at E1 to pack up and clear the departure lounge, finally resorting to shouting and threatening all their jobs to get them to move. Julius would be proud. Then, she'd had to commandeer a pair of wings, as hers had decided to die when she was about five feet off the ground. _Better five feet than fifty_ her reasonable side said. The irritated side (which was most of her) growled in response.

She shook her head, attempting to concentrate on the task ahead of her. She'd found the signal from one of the officers locators about an hour ago, but was having difficulty following it. The pulse was weak, and kept vanishing altogether, forcing her to double back on herself several times. At one point, she had to reverse nearly half a mile before her tracker picked up the trace again. She shook her head and sighed. This really wasn't her day with technology.

The signal suddenly got a lot stronger, beeping insistently. She was standing somewhere within a five metre radius of the elf, or the locator, at least. She narrowed her eyes, bringing the ground into sharper focus. There, about two metres to her left. The locator band. Holly suppressed a groan as she picked it up. The band was snapped, and had been stamped on. The batteries were hanging out of the back, attached by a single wire. She was amazed the thing was still working at all, to be honest. She opened a line to the Ops Booth, and smiled when Foaly answered.

"Hey, Holls. Give me good news." He sounded as tired as she felt. She checked the skyline. There was about an hour to dawn, by her reckoning. She should probably get back below ground.

"Hey, Foaly. I'm fresh out of good news, I'm afraid. I found one of the officer's locators, but it's smashed."

Foaly sighed.

"Hold on, I'll patch you through to the Commander." She heard keys clicking, then Foaly telling Vinyaya who was on the line.

"Captain. What have you found?"

"Not much, Commander. One of the locators. I want to stay out here though, have another look around. If this one survived, maybe one of the others did."

There was a pause. Holly could almost hear Vinyaya weighing up the desire to find the MIA officers with the desire to get Holly back below ground. The older elf sighed.

"Alright Captain. One more day. If there's nothing new by this time tomorrow, then you come back belowground."

"Understood, Commander."

There was a click, and then Foaly was back on the line. He sounded worried.

"You be careful, Holls. These goblins have already taken three officers. Don't make yourself the fourth."

"I've been thinking about that. How did a bunch of goblins manage to take down three of Section Eight's finest? I mean, they're hardly great planners."

"They have a demon leading them, I think. Did Vinyaya not mention that?"

"No." Holly wondered what else Vinyaya may have forgotten to tell her. "The demons are working with the goblins now?"

"Hey, at least they're integrating."

"Well, whoop-de-do" Holly replied sarcastically. "That's all we need, demon criminals."

She suppressed a shudder at the memory of her last encounter with demonkind. To call it a disaster was definitely understating things. Foaly opened up a screen in her helmet.

"You watch your back, ok? There's a barn about three miles east of your current position, abandoned. You should be alright to sleep there."

She smiled at his concern.

"Thanks, Foaly. See you tomorrow."

She closed the link and started her wings. There was a brush of pink on the clouds, making them look like candyfloss. She flew east towards the barn, reaching it in ten minutes. She found a secluded corner, out of the sunlight behind a hay bale, and settled down to nap, trying hard not to think about what she may be sharing the hayloft with.

* * *

Artemis was bored. There was nothing to do in this safe house, other than stare at the walls or sleep. He'd done the latter, and was quickly growing tired of the former. There was no internet linkup at the safe house, and he didn't have his laptop with him anyway. He hoped Holly was coming back soon, if for nothing else then to provide food. There was a lump of mouldy cheese in the fridge, but that was about it. The place looked as if it hadn't been used in years. Which, he had to admit, made it a very good hiding place.

He pulled the fabric away from the window and looked out at the sunrise. The safe house was coated in camfoil (or something very like camfoil, anyway), so it was perfectly safe for him to stand at the window. He gazed around, hoping for a glimpse of Holly, but no such luck. Grumbling, he turned away and sat on the lumpy bed. It was too small, having been built for the average-sized fairy, but it was comfortable enough. He rubbed his shoulder thoughtfully, trying to think who'd want him dead. Who had he angered this time? He started to make a mental list of everyone who had cause to want to kill him, and found that it was longer than he'd previously thought. He really had to do something about that. Right after Holly got him out of here.

* * *

**Seven hours later**

Holly blinked awake as the sun set. For a second, she panicked, but then recalled where she was and why she was in a hayloft. She stretched, sneezed and got to her feet. That morning, she'd put her wings down on a nearby hay bale before sleeping, and she pulled them on with a sigh. Back to work. She pulled a nutri-bar out of her ration pack and ate it on the short flight back to the field where she'd found the locator. If one officer had been there, maybe all three had. It was somewhere to start, at least.

Her tracker wasn't picking anything up, so she flew in a wide circle around the area, looking for any signs of disturbance. There was a patch of flattened grass two fields over, so she swooped down to investigate. She bent down and gently touched the scorched tips of the blades of grass. A shuttle had taken off from here (an old one, the LEP hadn't used petrol-engine shuttles in a good seven decades), and within the last week. She called Foaly, and he opened a screen in her helmet. He was grinning widely and eating a carrot.

"Hi, Holls. Great day, huh?"

She nodded warily.

"You look happy."

That was an understatement. Foaly's grin stretched from ear to ear, and on centaurs that's quite a distance.

"Caballine's pregnant!"

Holly gasped, and grinned.

"Congratulations!"

She saw Trouble waltz into the Ops Booth behind Foaly. He saw her name on the call screen, and his face split into a grin identical to theirs.

"Holly! Are you ok?"

"Fine, Troubs. I'll be back down later, we can have that dinner."

He nodded happily. Foaly answered another call on a separate screen, and Holly heard him talking to Vinyaya.

"Actually, she's already on speaker. I'll join the lines, give me a moment..."

"Captain?" barked a voice in her ear. Holly felt herself stand up straight, even though Vinyaya couldn't see her. Her tone just had that effect.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Have you found the officers?"

"Sorry, Commander, no. It looks like they were taken in a shuttle."

"No matter, Captain Short. The goblins contacted us to gloat, and we have their location. Right, Foaly?"

Holly heard him jump and start tapping away at a keyboard.

"Right, Commander" he replied after a few seconds. "They're..."

"Holly, you're mission has changed" Vinyaya interceded, cutting Foaly off. "It appears that the demon has left the goblins, which probably explains why they decided to call us on an insecure line. I want you to track the demon down. We have a general description; Foaly should be mailing it to your helmet as I'm speaking."

There was a pinging noise, Holly had the mail. She opened it and read quickly. Not much of use, until it mentioned the purple horns. That had to be unusual, even for a demon.

"Ok, Commander. I'm on it."

"He should be somewhere near your current location, but I'll let Foaly tell you the specifics. Good luck, Captain."

Good luck? How dangerous was this mission exactly? Trouble seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Holly, if it's too dangerous then call for backup. I'll be there."

At least he didn't try to talk her out of it. He knew better, she supposed. She nodded, got the location information from Foaly, and closed the link. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when she felt something hit her in the shoulder. She reached back and pulled the dart out, staring at it. The world swirled, and she staggered. How many times was she going to get abducted like this? Surely, someone would come up with something more inventive soon.

She fell to the ground, and saw through flickering eyelids her captor. A sprite? Holly gave up the battle to stay conscious, and the world went away for a while.

* * *

The next chapter will start from where the prolouge took off, ok? Love to everyone who's sticking with this! Oh, there may also be a little one-shot offshoot of this where Caballine (is that how you spell her name?) tells Foaly she's pregnant. Let me know if you think I should write it or not? He he, love you all, and thanks for reading. You know you want to review, right?  
Apologies, I'm kind of high on sugar right now. Not a good idea for this story really, but oh well. If it sucks, tell me and I'll make it better. Love you all!  
Liris  
xxx


	6. Chapter 5

Ok, firstly a warning. This chapter contains swearing and some quite graphic violence. If anyone thinks I need to raise the rating, let me know. Ok, now that's over with, enjoy! This follows on directly from the prologue, time scale included in the story itself. Artemis isn't in this chapter, but he will be in the next one. Please, don't shout at me for what happens to Holly, I did warn you!

* * *

"Tell me where I can find Artemis Fowl!"

Over and over again, the same demand. Someone really wanted to get to Artemis, which meant that she really didn't want to give up his location. Someone had already taken a pot-shot at the boy... Suddenly it clicked. She raised her head just enough to catch her captors eye.

"You're the one who tried to kill him earlier."

The sprite grinned.

"Finally. I thought LEP officers were supposed to be smart?"

_Yeah, well, being repeatedly stabbed does tend to rob your concentration_ she thought acidly. She didn't say it aloud, as she didn't want to remind the sprite of the knife in his hand, which he seemed to have temporarily forgotten. He was enjoying the sight of her writhing in pain. Holly couldn't muster the energy to be angry about that. Besides, whist he was watching, he wasn't stabbing.

The sprite jumped as his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, cutting off the upbeat ringtone with his thumb. The tune was at odds with the atmosphere, what with the blood staining the floor and knife.

"Yeah?"

He answered in French. Holly stood as straight as she could manage, praying that the voice on the other end would not be the one she thought it was.

"Do you have the location?"

The voice wasn't that of a young girl, but that wasn't saying much. It didn't even sound human, more metallic than anything else. It could have been anyone, but how many French people could Artemis have pissed off? Even he had his limits. Holly groaned before she could stop herself. Either the person on the phone was Minerva, in which case this situation could get even more troublesome, very quickly, or it was someone else entirely, in which case they were sunk anyway because someone else had found out about the People. Whichever it was, they were screwed.

"Not yet. I'm working on it."

"Well, work faster! You've been at it for three hours!"

Three hours of enduring this torture. At least she now had a time frame. Taking into account the time she'd been unconscious, that meant she'd been MIA for around five hours. That should be enough time for Trouble to panic and get to the surface. Help was on the way, she just needed to stall until it arrived. One way to do that was to tell them a false location (no way was she going to give up the real one), but how much time would that buy? She _would_ tell them somewhere really far away, but unfortunately she had no idea where the hell she was. So it could end up being around the corner, and then she'd be in even worse trouble than she was now. So that plan was out. That left endurance. She could stick this out, couldn't she? She was Captain Holly Short, first female officer in Recon, ever! She could stick this out, because she had to. She was nothing if not stubborn. She could do this, and she wouldn't break. She hoped. Everyone had a breaking point, but as of yet no-one had ever found hers. She prayed to whichever gods were listening that she wasn't about to break that streak.

The sprite realised that she was taking in the conversation and moved away. She heard him say 'she's stubborn as hell' and then 'give me an hour, then come'. Crap. The mystery person was coming? She could handle one sprite, fine, but throw in a human and she wasn't sure if she could manage. Tough she may be, but she was still breakable.

The sprite hung up, levelled his dagger and put it close to Holly's throat. She closed her eyes and tried not to breathe too hard.

"Tell me where you've hidden the Fowl kid, or I'll do some serious damage."

Breathing back under control, she opened her eyes and glared and her captor. The defiance in her eyes was impossible to miss, so she didn't bother refusing verbally. Besides, that'd require moving neck muscles, and she kind of liked her pulse where it was. The sprite ground his teeth and made a slight nick at the base of her throat, not too close to the artery, but still too close for comfort. Holly sucked in a sharp breath, releasing it as the magic healed the wound. The sprite had been watching her heal her wounds for the past three hours, and was getting tired of it. He pressed the knife into her arm, leaving it in as the sparks erupted around the contact. Holly tried not to struggle – she had no desire to rip her arm open – but it was an impossible task. She did manage not to scream. The sparks slowed after a couple of minutes, eventually petering out altogether. The sprite grinned and removed the dagger. Holly felt blood trickle down her arm, and knew her magic was out.

"Now, maybe you'll tell me what it is I want to know?" the sprite asked, raising the knife. The artificial light in the room glinted dully off the fresh blood on the blade. The whole place stank of blood, but not all of it was hers. There was a stain on the far wall that she could see, and she hadn't bled over there, so either this was a torture chamber that this particular sprite used a lot or... oh no. Her eyes widened as she realised where she was being held. She was tied to a meat hook in an abattoir.

_Hurry Trouble_ she thought, as the blade once again tore into her shoulder. She couldn't hold out like this for much longer.

* * *

**Three hours earlier**

Trouble was pacing the Ops Booth, waiting for Foaly to get an open line to Holly. She should have reported in half an hour ago, but there had been no contact from her for a couple of hours. Besides, they had restaurant reservations for eight.

Foaly whinnied, and Trouble immediately snapped to attention.

"What, what is it?"

"According to her locator, Holly hasn't moved in over two hours. We're getting nothing from her helmet, and I can't get contact."

The centaur had answered without any sarcasm or ramblings. This really was bad. Trouble grabbed a pair of Hummingbird wings from the rack by the door, and the biggest gun he could find, talking whilst he kitted up.

"I want a priority pod to E1 ready yesterday, Foaly. I'm going up there, and I want you with me all the way. Guide me to her locator, and I'll do the rest."

His words were professional, but his voice was shaking. Foaly took the liberty of gripping Trouble's shoulder. The Commander froze, and Foaly could feel the fine trembling running through his body.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I could get Captain Vein up there..."

"No, Foaly. I'm going. She's my officer so it's my responsibility."

Foaly knew what he really meant was _she's my girlfriend and I'm scared_ but didn't comment. Instead, he opened the flare prediction programme.

"Big flare due in E1 in two minutes, Commander."

Trouble pulled a helmet over his ears and ran out of the door.

* * *

**Twenty minutes later**

Trouble had made record time getting to this spot, breaking most of the LEP guidelines into smithereens on his way. He didn't much care. Holly was in trouble.

He knelt down in the grass, staring at Holly's helmet lying abandoned in the centre of the burnt section of grass. Her locator was in his hand. The band was torn, as if someone had ripped it from her arm. Trying to contain his temper, he opened a line to Foaly.

"Tell me we have video for this, Foaly."

"I've rewound to just before the helmet malfunctioned, and this is what I've got."

A mail icon opened in Trouble's helmet. He opened it and watched. Holly was bending over the grass, in more or less the same position he was now. He heard a muted conversation, Foaly telling her the suspected location of the demon. The visual jumped a little as she nodded then stood, and there was a click as she closed the link to Police Plaza. Then, suddenly, the camera blacked out. Trouble swore loudly.

"Is that it?"

"Afraid so, sir. There's nothing else on that tape, or on audio. Someone must have jammed the signals."

"So she's been MIA for two hours, and no-one noticed?" Trouble was incredulous. How could this be happening? He stood and took off vertically, activating the thermal scan. He surveyed the surrounding area, noting the fading pink trails through the grass. The brightest one was where he'd just been, but there was another that looked just wide enough to accommodate a fairy. Holly? It was worth a try, at least. Ignoring the excuses Foaly was muttering into his ear, he swooped down low and followed the trail, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't following a false lead. He needed to find Holly – and fast.

* * *

I don't really like the way this ends, but oh well. Cliffie, I know, feel free to yell at me. I'm envisioning three, maybe four more chapters, with a fair amount of T/H in the last one. What do you think? Love the idea, hate it? Think I'm depraved and you're going to boycot this story from now on? Let me know!

Liris  
xxx


	7. Chapter 6

Wow, a second update this week! Sorry this chapter is so short, but I'll make up for it by posting the next chapter on Sunday. Deal? Oh, and if Arty or Trouble are OOC, tell me and I'll change them. Enjoy!

* * *

Trouble followed the residual heat trail for a quarter of an hour (he kept losing it amongst fox and badger trails), growing more worried with every second. Suddenly, the faint pink track stopped. Trouble swooped down, then realised why the trail had gone cold – the being had left the ground. So, it was either someone with access to mechanical wings or a sprite. Which really didn't narrow it down – every spoiled brat in Haven had had a new pair of wings for their birthday (including Grub). He ground his teeth, looking for an upside to this cursed situation.

"You could always ask for help?"

"Foaly, keep your mouth shut unless you have something useful to say" Trouble said, trying not to shout. The centaur may yet prove helpful.

"Whoever took Holly couldn't have carried her too far, wings or otherwise. So, they must be somewhere close."

Trouble wasn't surprised that Foaly had come to the same conclusion as he had. He didn't waste time congratulating the centaur – no need to inflate his already swollen ego. Instead, he opened the map programme. There was a disused LEP hide about five miles from his current location. It was in a deserted area, and was avoided by even the most avid of human hikers. It would be the perfect place to hide an abducted LEP officer or two. He shifted gears and took off as fast as his wings would allow. Foaly whinnied in his ear, saying something about 'unlikely that anyone even knows it still exists', but he paid no attention. Something in his gut was telling him that he needed to go to the hide, and his intuition had never let him down yet.

* * *

Artemis lay on his back on the tiny bed, trying to ignore his protesting stomach. Holly hadn't put in a return appearance, and he wasn't yet desperate enough to try the hunk of mouldy cheese, so he hadn't eaten in almost sixteen hours. For the pale adolescent, that was a _very_ long time. Even on missions with Holly, they'd eaten pack rations.

He rolled off the bed and looked out of the window again, as if just by wishing he could bring Holly to him. His eyes raked the skyline, not actually expecting to see a fairy come soaring over the horizon, so he was quite surprised when a diminutive humanoid figure, complete with wing rig, appeared from inside the clouds. He took off his anti-shield fitted sunglasses (they'd been in his suitcase – one never knew when one's fairy friends would drop by for a visit) and sat back on the edge of the bed, hoping Holly had remembered to bring food.

* * *

Trouble slowed down when he got within sight range for the hide, and activated his thermal scanner. The cam foil covering wasn't insulated against thermal imaging, which was one of the reasons the hide had been retired. Sure enough, there was a figure in the single room, but it was too large to be a fairy. How the hell had a human gotten into the hide? He drew his gun and cut the power to his wings, gliding down to stand just in front of the main door. The lock hadn't been broken, so either this particular human was incredibly lucky and had stumbled upon the access code, or someone had let them in. Flicking the setting on his gun up to level two, he punched in the access code and opened the door, pointing the barrel of the gun directly at the human's chest. A split-second before he pressed the trigger, he recognised the human, and pointed the gun at the ceiling.

"Artemis Fowl. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you, Commander. I thought only Holly knew of my location."

Artemis tried to get his heart rate back under control. He didn't show any outward sign of shock, but as the door had slammed open and the gun had been pointed at him, his pulse rate had skyrocketed. He may be more used to situations like that now than since before he'd met the fairies, but that didn't mean that he was comfortable with them.

Trouble holstered his gun and shut the hide door. Now he recalled. Holly had moved Fowl to a safe house after someone had taken a shot at him. In the chaos of the last hour, he'd forgotten all about the human.

"Yes, she did. Have you seen her?"

"Not for several hours, since she brought me here. Why?"

Trouble punched the air in frustration. Artemis's eyes narrowed.

"What's going on, Commander?"

"Tell him" said a voice in Trouble's ear. "Maybe young Fowl can help."

"Yes, yes, alright Foaly. Holly's MIA."

It appeared that saying it quickly didn't make it any less painful. He looked out of the window at the stars. Right now, the two of them should be placing their orders at a restaurant in downtown Haven. He swallowed his anger and hurt, and turned his gaze back to the mud boy.

"She disappeared about three hours ago."

Artemis closed his eyes and massaged his temples, trying to ignore the fluttering panicky feeling in his chest.

"Tell me everything."

Trouble told the boy everything he knew about Holly's disappearance. It didn't take long. The boy sat in silence for several seconds, then opened his eyes.

"Have you thought that maybe she was taken by the same goblins who took the other officers?"

"Not possible" crowed Foaly. Trouble handed Artemis a headset. He didn't want to play go-between.

"The goblins have been located, and I'm keeping an eye on them via live satellite uplink until a Section Eight officer gets there. She's not there."

"What about the demon?"

"We've got a fix on his location, and he's nowhere near the abduction site. Sorry, Fowl."

"Then maybe it's not to do with the mission at all. Maybe it's to do with me."

There was silence on the other end of the line as Foaly considered the possibility.

"Think about it. Someone takes a shot at me, but doesn't manage to finish the job. Holly moves me to a secure location, and she's the only one who knows where I am. If someone wants me, she's the perfect person to ask."

"Holly wouldn't tell" Trouble said hoarsely. The thought that maybe Artemis was wrong never even crossed his mind. The mud genius was never wrong. "Holly would die before she'd betray her friends."

"I know" Artemis said quietly. He stood and paced, trying to concentrate.

"The abductor would take her somewhere quiet, isolated. Somewhere that no one will hear if she screams."

His voice broke a little on the last word, so he took a breath, composing himself. Hysteria would solve nothing.

"It would probably be nearby, but not so close that you'd see it immediately. And it wouldn't be a pleasant place."

He stopped there, unable to continue. If Holly was being hurt because of him... She'd died for him once, in Limbo. He hoped she wouldn't do so again.

Trouble brought up a map on his visor and programmed in the conditions Artemis had stated. Twenty-three possible destinations showed up within a twenty mile radius of the abduction site. He headed for the door, but Artemis stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm coming too."

Trouble thought about arguing, but then decided that he didn't have the energy or the time to spend convincing the boy to stay here. Maybe, if the shooter saw their target, they'd be distracted for long enough to get Holly to safety. He attached Artemis to his moonbelt and activated his wings, flying to the nearest pulsing dot on his visor. Twenty-three possibles. That could take all night.

_Hold on Holly_ he thought. _I'm on my way_.

* * *

That's your lot for now. Review, and tell me what you think! The next chapter will be back to violence, and then another one with a bit of T/H. Then I'm done! Thanks for the reviews, you all make me feel special.

Love Liris  
xxx


	8. Chapter 7

Okay, I know I said that this would be up yesterday, but I had two exams today, so I was revising all weekend. Sorry about that. Anyway, there's torture, a little Arty related humour (well, poking fun at the boy), and one hell of a cliffhanger at the end of this. Also, the next chapter will probably be that last official one, depending on whether I can bear to stop writing this or not. I actually really like writing this, it's really different from all the other stuff I've done. And I will write the Foaly/Caballine one-shot as a tag-on to this, so it will be the very last chapter added on to this. Don't read it if you don't want to.

Ok, after an author note that probably sets records for being long and pointless, here is the next chapter.

* * *

**Two hours later**

Trouble and Artemis were perched elegantly on the branch of a large oak tree, staring across a field at the seventh possible destination. Well, Trouble was perched elegantly. Artemis was clinging to the wood as tight as his pianist fingers would allow, trying his best not to fall from the bough. It didn't make him feel any better when Trouble reached up nonchalantly and plucked a half-ripe acorn from the tree.

"We don't know what state she'll be in when we find her. She could need it."

Artemis didn't reply, but he noticed the Commander's choice of wording. _When _we find her. He was trying to remain positive, but the fine tremor in his voice gave away his worry. He really cared about Holly.

Trouble stood, making Artemis cling even tighter to the tree limb.

"Come on, Fowl. This isn't the place."

Artemis decided to trust the elf, for three reasons. One, he was obviously very worried about Holly, and wouldn't leave if there was any possibility that she was in the building. Two, he had helmet Optics, and could see the building as if he were two metres away, not two hundred. And three, if he didn't fly out of this cursed tree right now, he was going to fall out. He stood shakily and gripped Trouble's arm tightly as the elf flew the two of them to the next destination. Trouble tried not to be too pleased at the look of relief on the boy's face. Artemis was definitely not an active person.

* * *

Holly was slumped in her bonds, hanging heavily from the hook. Blood trickled down her collarbone and over her chest from a wound on her cheek. She didn't register it. She wasn't registering much anymore, except pain and the occasional demand for information. She still hadn't told the sprite what he wanted to know. At least, she assumed that she hadn't, as he kept asking and stabbing.

The door to the abattoir opened, blowing cool air into the room. It revived Holly a little, and she stood straighter, relieving the pressure in her arms. The figure in the doorway was human, that much she could make out, but her vision was blurry and going dark at the edges, so she couldn't be sure who it was. The police? No, that would be too much to hope for. Life was never that kind to her. It was probably the voice from the sprite's phone.

The sprite hurried over to the human, shutting the door and talking in French.

"I said an hour! Why are you here so soon?"

"I wanted to see what was taking so long" the human replied. The voice was young, and female. Holly recognised that voice. She raised her head another inch, and Minerva Paradizo strode into view.

"Hello, Holly."

The sprite pulled at the girl's sleeve.

"Now, human, let me do what I've been paid for..."

Minerva ignored the sprite and took another step closer to Holly.

"I just flew in from France to see you. Tell me where my Arty is!"

_Her_ Arty? Talk about possessive. Not exactly the sort of language you expected from a potential killer. So, if she wasn't trying to kill him, then what? Holly said nothing, trying to work out what was going on. Minerva spoke again slowly, voice laced with suppressed violence.

"I was supposed to be the first person he spoke to after the incident. The first person who cared. Then you stole him! Tell me where he is!"

It hit Holly then. In some twisted way, the human girl had feeling for Artemis! And she was trying to manoeuvre him into returning them.

"You manipulative..."

Minerva backhanded Holly before she could finish. The ring on her middle finger opened up another gash in the elf's cheek, and Holly gasped. Her vision swam, and she blacked out for a second. When she could see again, Minerva had drawn her small fist back ready to punch. The sprite, either in an attempt at chivalry or, more likely, not wanting to lose his money, tried to stop her, but she avoided his hands and punched the Captain squarely on the same cheek she'd just sliced open. It wasn't a particularly powerful blow, but Holly was hardly in the best shape. She groaned, and went limp as she passed out. Minerva whirled to face the sprite standing behind her. He was hovering a foot above the ground, livid at the human girl.

"Listen, Mud Girl, there was no need for that! I was doing just fine, if you'd come when you were told..."

Minerva poked him in the chest, which was about level with her shoulder.

"I am in charge here, not you. I am the one paying you, oui? Then you will do as you are told. I want the location by midnight, or else."

"Midnight? That's only twenty minutes. She could be out of it for that long."

Minerva stomped over to the door. The smell of the abattoir was beginning to make her feel ill.

"Then I suggest you wake her up. I want that location, fairy, no matter what it takes."

She stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her. The sprite alighted on the ground, facing Holly. Who did that Mud Girl think she was? He wiped a trickle of blood from Holly's eye. She didn't as much as twitch. This was going to take some serious healing.

"D'Arvit" he muttered, sending a few blue sparks into the captain's prone form. Her breathing hitched, then settled, but she didn't wake. Stupid human. He was good at his job, and if she'd just left well alone, the elf would be awake right now, and talking. Holly had been rambling under her breath for a while now, but nothing useful had emerged. Mostly the word 'trouble'.

He shot another few sparks into Holly's limp body, and a couple of bruises vanished. She let out a low moan, and her eyes rolled as she began to regain consciousness. Encouraged, the sprite let three more sparks escape, and Holly opened her eyes. She shut them again almost immediately, but at least she was awake. Good.

The sprite picked up the knife from the floor and traced it gently down her cheek. It left a thin line of pink behind it. Holly winced and tried to pull away.

"Just tell me where the Fowl kid is, and all this stops. I just need the location."

Holly muttered the word 'trouble' again, then a string of swear words in various languages. The sprite wasn't amused. He balanced the point of the blade delicately on her chest, directly above her heart. A few drops of blood beaded around the contact point.

"Tell me where he is now, or I will kill you."

* * *

Trouble landed softly in the middle of a deserted field, and undid the moonbelt. Artemis tumbled to the ground very inelegantly, and winced as he pulled himself to his knees. He had landed in a puddle of mud, so his suit was ruined. Then again, the bullet hole in the shoulder may have also had something to do with that.

He turned his mind away from his clothes and crawled over to Trouble's side. The Commander was standing still as a statue, but considerably more alert. He was staring at the building thirty metres from them, more specifically at the black limo in front of it. There was someone there. He activated his helmet Optics, and then the thermal scanning. Three figures in the building, one human, one sprite (well, he thought it was a sprite. They had wings and were hovering, so it was reasonable to assume) and one other figure, with their arms raised above their head. Holly?

The human left the building, and Trouble heard Artemis gasp.

"Minerva" the boy breathed. Trouble's blood ran cold. He'd never met the girl personally, but she was the reason that Holly had been missing for three years. Well, her and the human at his side. He didn't much like either of them.

Then the impact of that statement made itself known. If Minerva was in there, then Artemis was right. After all, who else could want the boy dead? Even Fowl had his limits. It made sense, which was good. It also meant that the figure in the building was Holly, which was bad.

Trouble waited for the limo to depart, then drew his gun and double-timed to the door Minerva had left by. Artemis caught up with him as he was about to kick it open.

"You get the kidnapper, and I'll get Holly. We'll meet you out here."

Trouble wanted to argue – Holly was his responsibility – but saw the wisdom in the boy's plan and decided to let it be. He and Holly could catch up once she was out of danger. He raised his boot and rammed the door with his heel.

* * *

"Tell me where he is, elf!"

There was silence for a few seconds. The sprite waited patiently. No one had ever failed to give him what he wanted, and he wasn't about to let this girl beat him. Of course, killing a fairy went against the book, and he wouldn't actually do it, but she didn't know that. The silence stretched on, and the tension in the air built. He was going to have to hurt her again.

Suddenly, the room thundered open, rebounding off the wall with a thump. Startled, the sprite fell forwards. He whirled, and was just able to see the fury in Trouble Kelp's eyes before the blast from the gun caught him in the chest. He staggered sideways and collapsed. Neither male in the doorway noticed. They were both staring aghast at the blade sticking out of Holly's chest.

* * *

Told you there was a cliffhanger. The next chapter will be up soon, promise, depending on when Skullduck decides that he's had enough of me moping and starts pecking at me to work. Yes, Skullduck. He's 98% pure evil, and does my bidding most of the time. Sometimes, he decides that he can't stand me, and turns his rage on me, but I've survived thus far.  
Now, review, or Skullduck will come after you! Mwahaha! Ahem, sorry. Hyper.  
Love Liris (and Skullduck)  
xxx


	9. Chapter 8

I know most of you hate me slightly for the major cliffie last chapter, so here is the last chapter to make it all better. H/T fans out there will be very happy, H/A fans (myself included) not so much. Anyone who hates Minerva, READ THIS!!!

So, this is the last official chapter of 'hunt'. There will be one more uploaded, but that will be the Foaly/Caballine oneshot I promised earlier. Don't reads it if you don't want to.

* * *

"No" Trouble breathed, then sprinted to Holly's side and untied her hands. She fell limply into his arms. His LEP suit was immediately sprayed with blood, but he didn't notice. Artemis was at his side, helping to lower Holly to the ground. She was breathing, but it looked laboured, and when Artemis felt for a pulse it was weak and irregular. Trouble put his hand on the knife hilt. Artemis stopped him before he could remove it.

"The blade's not in her heart, or she'd be dead already. It's plugging the wound, stopping her bleeding to death. If you take it out, we're going to lose her."

Artemis was purposely not saying Holly's name. If he pretended it was someone else, then maybe he could do this without breaking down. He'd lost Holly once; he would not lose her again. At that thought, tears broke free and streaked down his face. Trouble didn't notice, but he did remove his hand from the blade.

"Then what do we do?"

Through the headsets, Artemis could hear Foaly trying not to panic. The centaur was muttering things into the microphone, but it was too distorted to make any sense of. Artemis decided to go with his prior knowledge, and pray that it worked.

"You heal her, and I'll pull the blade out slowly. The wound should seal as the knife comes out."

"Should?" Trouble barked, alarmed. Artemis was never unsure. The boy took a deep breath.

"Will. Holly's done this before, in Spiro's tower. Well, not exactly this, but something similar."

Trouble nodded and placed his hand on Holly's chest. Through the blood drenching her LEP jumpsuit, he could feel her heartbeat against his palm. It was barely there. He closed his eyes and pushed the magic into her body. Blue sparks shot out of his fingers and targeted the wound in her chest as being the most vital. Artemis waited until some of the blood receded, then steadily removed the blade. The magic went haywire, zooming around her small frame faster than the boy had ever seen. There was too much to be done at once, he supposed. A cut on Holly's cheek vanished, followed by a small wound above her eye. Her back arched as her heart regained its rhythm, and Trouble's eyes snapped open. He grabbed Artemis by the arm and pulled him away from her, not a moment too soon. The healing Artemis had witnessed in the Arctic was nothing compared to this. Apparently, a three foot tall elf could effectively wreck an abattoir in less than two minutes. Not that either of the two witnesses minded – they weren't exactly keen on the place anyway.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was in reality probably no more than one minute, Holly stopped shaking and shouting, and slumped back to the floor. Trouble was by her side in an instant, two fingers on her throat. He looked up at Artemis, beaming.

"She's going to be alright."

Artemis sagged against the doorframe in relief. He never wanted to see Holly heal herself like that again. A groan from the floor brought his attention to the assassin, who was coming to. Trouble was too preoccupied with Holly to notice, so the boy picked up the Commander's discarded weapon and made his way over to the recovering sprite. The fairy opened his eyes.

"Artemis Fowl?"

"Yes" said the boy, pointing the gun at the sprite's head. The fairy didn't seem to care.

"Good" he said, then pulled a phone from his pocket and pressed two buttons. Artemis loosed a shot into the mobile. His aim wasn't perfect, and he hit the sprite's hand rather than the mobile, but the desired effect was achieved anyway. The sprite dropped the phone with a yelp, which brought Trouble's attention to him. The Commander left Holly's side for a second, marched over to Artemis's side, took the gun off him and shot the sprite with it. The assassin's eyes rolled up into his head and he passed out again. Trouble knelt down and cuffed him, then lowered his helmet mike.

"Foaly? I need a recovery team here, now."

"They're on their way, Trubs. ETA twenty minutes."

"Don't call me Trubs" he muttered, but there was no bite in it. Both fairies were relieved that Holly was alright. She was still unconscious, but that was to be expected after a healing like that. Trouble hung up and pulled off his helmet. He sat on the floor with Holly's head in his lap, and promised himself silently that he was going to have serious words with both Vinyaya and Fowl once he'd gotten Holly home. If it wasn't for them, she'd never have been in this position in the first place.

He brushed a lock of hair out of Holly's eyes, and she groaned. He froze. Holly coughed, and blinked awake slowly.

"Trouble?"

"Hey, Holls. You ok?"

She grimaced at him.

"Oh, just perfect."

Trouble almost laughed. If she was being sarcastic, then she really was alright. He leaned down and kissed her gently. She reciprocated, hands going around his neck.

Artemis watched the pair for a second, then turned away. What he saw made him gasp and backpedal. Trouble glanced up sharply. Minerva was standing in the doorway.

"You came for her?"

She was talking to Artemis. He nodded.

"Of course I did, she's my friend."

There was a pause, then Artemis had to ask.

"Why did you do this?"

"Because..." Minerva paused, unsure how to continue. Holly struggled onto her elbows and answered for the girl.

"Because she likes you, Artemis."

This made no sense to the boy. He turned to Holly, questions in his gaze. Trouble helped her to her feet, and she leaned heavily on him. She shrugged as much as was possible with Trouble's arms around her shoulders.

"She's psycho, Artemis. That's all I know."

Minerva flushed at this, and took a step towards Holly, who shook free of Trouble's grip and did likewise. She swayed, but stayed on her feet. Minerva was clearly disheartened by this, but she decided to shout anyway.

"You little..."

Holly threw a punch that carried with it all her anger and pain. Minerva made an 'oof' noise and keeled over. Holly grinned at the two males.

"That felt good."

Retrieval chose that time to arrive, and Trouble had to supervise the removal of the sprite and Minerva. They were going to take the French girl home and mindwipe her. Holly and Artemis walked outside, looking up at the stars.

"I'm glad you're alright, Holly" Artemis said softly. Holly glanced at him. She still looked pale and unsteady on her feet, but at least she was alive.

"Likewise" she said. It took the boy a moment to realise she meant him.

"Thank you, Arty. You saved me again."

"You saved me yesterday. We're even."

She nodded agreement to that, but didn't have time to say anything more before Trouble emerged from the frenzy of activity by the doors. He kissed Holly lightly, then turned to Artemis.

"Retrieval will drop you home on their way to France. I'm going to take Holly belowground and get her home."

"I don't need mollycoddling, Trubs."

He ignored her indignant tone, and held out a hand to Artemis.

"Thank you, Fowl."

Artemis shook his hand.

"And you, Commander Kelp."

Trouble gave Holly a pair of wings (she refused to be carried), and the two took off into the night. Holly had buried the acorn Trouble had given her minutes before, so Artemis lost sight of her as she shielded.

"Goodbye, Holly" he muttered.

* * *

Trouble was by Holly's side right up until she reached her front door. She smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek. He hugged her close, still unable to comprehend how close he'd come to losing her. She whispered into his ear.

"Thanks, Trubs."

He pulled back enough to see her smile.

"What for?"

"You saved me. Thank you."

"It was nothing."

She opened her front door and stepped inside. Trouble hovered on the step. They'd been going out for almost five months, but he hadn't actually been into her new apartment before. The old one – the one she'd had before the whole Limbo incident – he had been forced to sell, but he'd placed the money in an account and hadn't touched it. He knew she'd come back, even when most others had given up hope.

She smiled at him and beckoned him inside. He grinned and stepped over the threshold.

"Stay tonight" Holly said. It wasn't voiced as a request, but the uncertainty was clear in her eyes. He kissed her to make it go away.

"Of course" he said, and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

* * *

So, that's it. Thanks to you all for sticking with this, and for making Skullduck and me very happy with your reviews. Don't let us down this time, huh?  
This has been fun to write, and I'm gonna miss it. Thanks again to you all, you're awesome.

Love Liris and Skullduck  
xxx


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